Dreamer
by Orealie
Summary: Vader is his name to others, but within his own family, he's still Anakin from Tatoonie, that is, the one with prophetic dreams. Fatherson fic.
1. Default Chapter

Notes before story: Takes place years after Return of the Sith, and obviously Padme is alive and well, but without one of her twins. Read on... and review if you like.

Disclaimer: Don't own Star Wars characters, but I own all my ideas.

**Dreamer**

"Where are you going?" Padme was in her blue nightgown and her face was surrounded by thick curls of hair. "Anakin?"

Her voice stopped him cold in his path to the door of their apartment. He looked back at his wife and gave a humorless smile that kept his mouth in a tight line.

"I'm going to get my son back."

Her hand flew to her mouth, her lips losing control and shuddering. Tears threatened to pour out of her sad chocolate colored eyes. Quietly, she said, "Anakin, our son died at birth. I saw him, and Obi-Wan-" she couldn't finish, her arms flapped to her side uselessly. Tears came unbidden.

He watched his wife and could almost see the memories reflecting from her mind because of his sensitivity to her.

Padme found enoughof her calm to finish, "Obi-Wan held him, and he died Anakin." Her eyes hardened but she gave up trying to fool him on how she felt and instead her eyes turned pleadingly at him. "Don't listen to your dreams, Anakin, you'll just hurt us both."

"Padme-"

But she ran into his arms and he softened, gently holding her as she sobbed into his shoulder with the ache of a woman who had lost their child.

Closing his own eyes he gathered the force and spread it like a warm blanket over her and she sighed, her breathing no longer heaving in pained sobs but deepening.

Asleep, he put her onto the couch and covered her up; with on last look at his love he disappeared out the door, striding undetected into the docking bay.

Picking out a small fighter, Anakin began strapping into the cockpit before he noticed a familiar blue and white hull lodged in the wing of the ship.

His face split into a grin as he recognized the droid. "Good to see you, R2."

The little droid adjusted itself so its eye was on Anakin, who-as he scanned him, --looked a little older than the last time he had seen him and it surprised the droid how much he hadn't changed. R2 hooted in greeting.

The computer Anakin was working with lit up with words, translating the droid's speech for him. As he glanced at it he was already turning the ship in a sharp half circle and the docking bay's doors opened up to the dark infinity of space. "I don't know where 3P0 went-I suppose he's on a dangerous mission with the captain?"

They both knew that was an outrageous possibility and as Anakin laughed, R2 added a few bleeps of his own.

Handling the ship was surprisingly easy he found and the ship smoothly left from the mother ship, hekept on manual and R2 kept on checking the systems when he asked. Anakin found their ship was quite different from its earlier models-in more ways than one, which he took advantage of by performing an almost impossible dive, the controls under his hands vibrating violently under the strain.

With inborn talent, he flipped the ship right side up and they took up their course once again to one of the star systems farthest from the Rim Worlds and Coruscant.


	2. Dreamer 2

**Dreamer**

Two, twin suns were diving into the horizon, barely seen now from even Luke's point in the open desert. Well, not exactly open-his house was only a stone's throw away behind him.

Mesmerized he watched the sky turn to a dark blue until the night unfurled with its brilliant stars.

He blinked, once or twice to rid himself of thought, glanced back at the Lars home while taking out the lightsaber he had hidden in his tunic earlier so Uncle Owen wouldn't catch him with it. Its silvery handle gleamed in the night; Luke inspected it with his eyes thoroughly, watching the disc on top as he tried a particular switch.

Hot blue light was unleashed, as long as a man's body and lethal enough to burn through most metals. Behind the light, he saw the Lars homestead and the burning confusion that the day had brought him came back. The day had started with the feeling that something different was about to happen; maybe go as far as his uncle agreeing to let him sign up for the academy. Of course he had said no andLuke got into a heated argument that left him grounded from his speeder.

Then after he was out a long day's work, old, Ben Kenobi came up to him and gave him the lightsaber, saying it belonged to his father. Owen had a weird sixth sense like all parents seemed to have, and when he saw Kenobi talking to Luke, he was furious.

So furious, that he shouted angrily, shot his blaster in warning, and threatened that if he ever spoke to Luke again he would shoot Ben so good that not even the desert would be able to pick apart his bones.

Even more bizarre, was the capsule he had found on his way home. It had been seething smoke,lying crashed in the open desert, a tall golden droid coming out in a terrible fluster, C3PO he had introduced himself as. Checking the inside he found nothing but broken wires, a seat, and some odd tapes-which he took and gave to the droidto hang on to.

Seemingly, the droid was as baffled as he was and said he was on a ship that had been attacked by the Rebels, how he got the tapes he didn't know.

A loud thump came from the garage, followed by a bang-the door.

Quickly he switched off the lightsaber, holding it behind his back; he tried to look casual.

Thankfully, it was his Aunt Beru. Her face creased slightly as she smiled at Luke worriedly, "Are you all right, Luke?"

He nodded, "Fine, just looking at the stars."

She followed his gaze, smiled as she felt the serene calm their desert had to offer in the shelter of home. She closed her eyes. For minutes, it seemed all the tension died down and they both enjoyed the beauty of the night together, like they all used to do when Luke was younger.

Just the thought of them together made him burn up again and Luke wondered why his uncle had changed so much. He did not want to be a farmer!

"I'm going in."

Luke walked back, slumped but carefully maneuvering the lightsaber in front of him so his aunt wouldn't notice. Then he slipped it back into his tunic.

"I'll come too, wait for me Luke."

He stopped, and as she caught up she looked at Luke-he looked so much like his father. She took his shoulder affectionately, "Your father would be proud of you, Luke. I'll talk to Owen, he loves you very much but he can be so stubborn. We both know you don't want to be a farmer and he has to get it through his stubborn head if I have to drive it in myself."

Luke laughed with a little mirth, leaned on his aunt's shoulder like a son would do.


	3. Dreamer 3

**Dreamer **

"You got a six?"

The other man boredly threw in his cards, folding.

"These are all mine," said the winner, grabbed the stack of credits and everyone else grumbled.

"Three weeks in a row," grumped a tall alien with bulging blue eyes, then commented to the person nearest, "you think being a gambling man in Mos Eisley would pay out some time."

There was some agreement around the table, and the winner, an ugly Twi'lek, puffed out a stream of smoke at the alien. "Some just have all the luck." His sarcasm was mostly unappreciated and more than one person had their hands on their blasters in case he wanted to gloat on.

Now Anakin had it figured out, these men were certainly no stormtroopers but thugs hired to work for the Empire to keep up the cruddiest post imaginably; no wonder it was filled with boozers and gamblers. But then again, this was Mos Eisley.

He turned to go.

"Hey, pal, care for a round?"

Anakin paused, turned to stare down the six others occupying the room. He took off his cloak and smiled friendly, "No, I'm in a hurry actually."

As soon as he turned his back he heard the swift sound of a blaster being brought up, the scraping of chairs against the floor-the click as the trigger was pushed in. A rushing sensation filled him and he gathered the force, stopping the laser fire in mid-air.

The pipe the Twi'lek was smoking fell slack from his mouth.

He gestured; the fire exploded with deafening sound and blew billowing smoke around the room. Undeterred, Anakin strode into the fire across the room and flicked through the filing cabinet and brought out the folder he sought.

By the time the smoke cleared, Anakin was gone.

For he was already in his speeder and he was flicking through the stolen documents for what he needed to know.

The Lars still lived in Port-and he guessed it was about an hour drive or so. He put the documents beside him, taking the rental speeder to its max across the desert. He kept the hood of it down, such was his confidence that not even a pack of Tusken Raiders could attack with success.

His radio transmitter started buzzing and he half-listened to the reports.

One caught his attention:

"Number 0-35554 reporting to Commander. Technicians have reported that data containing all schematics of the Death Star have been copied by a missionary ship that attacked. Repeat, the tapes are missing-"

Anakin quickly picked up the transmitter, holding it up and making out the report date. It was a yesterday, yesterday when he left!

He shook his head, and listened to the report further:

"-escape pods were ejected into space, possible destinations include Tatoonie-"

That was ironic, he switched the transmitter off, throwing it onto the files.

Though the arrival of real troopers might just be what he needed, he veered off course as the force swelled with a familiar presence.


	4. Dreamer 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Star Wars characters or Star Wars storyline, however, I own any of my own orginal characters and plots/ideas. **

_An author's note:_ Well, it's been a long time hasn't it? Apologies for the length of time that has transpired since I've last updated. I've had a continual writer's block and life has been more hectic than it already has been. I'm going to stick to these shorter chapters I've been doing because I've tried doing bigger chapters that my old, long gone stories used to have, but that didn't worl. So I'll stick to the format I've been doing thus far. This way I can promise regular updates that I'll post on my writer's bio from now on. Due to the fact that I can't individually thank each of you for reviewing I want to say thanks overall for the support and I hope you'll stick with me as the story continues. Enjoy.

* * *

**Dreamer**

Luke had considered running away before but somehow he had always talked his younger self out of it by way of fear. Back then he had no transportation, no money, and no clue as to where he would go or what job he might get. Now, however, Luke had all of those things. He had money saved from the piddly amounts of harvest money Owen had given him year after year, and there was his speeder, fully capable and fully fueled to take Luke to Mos Eisley where he could get a charter off-planet. Of course, one problem Luke had, which he knew was stronger than the rest of his problems, was actually leaving his Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen.

Who really weren't so bad, Luke reflected in light of his possible, future situation. Conversely, Luke utterly knew that if he stayed here much longer he would become complacent and dull like Owen himself and would really then become a farmer. The horror of it all was the fact that Luke only had enough resources to get him off-planet and maybe pay for a meal afterwards. There would be no return trip home.

Though Luke still had natural feelings of fear he was resolved to go. And the only way to comfort his aunt and uncle was to leave the short letter he had written. Picking up his backpack that contained the things he needed as well as a few small personal belongings, Luke drank in his small bedroom like he had never had before. His lamp softly radiated over the room to rest on that tool kit Owen gave Luke. Owen had dryly joked (which Luke had been sure that Owen had been incapable of) that he had got the kit by bartering with a bounty hunter. Owen and Luke both laughed heartily; Luke laughing because it was extremely funny trying to fathom Owen bartering with a bounty hunter.

Even that thought still brought a smirk to his face and with that thought in mind Luke opened his dresser draw to find his clothes neatly folded as always. His aunt always did small but important little things for him whenever she could. His clothes smelled of her soft yet pungent aroma. Breathing that scent for the last time, Luke was nearly crushed with realization that he wouldn't be able return. With one last long look, Luke finally shut off the lights and soundlessly left.

Meanwhile, Anakin had turned aside, completely stopped and silent in this cruel desert to find that the presence he had felt was suddenly gone. While he had been waiting to see if that presence might return again he had been commed, notified that imperial reinforcements were here. Anakin knew Padme had probably sent them because she was worried about him. What actually worried Anakin now that he wasn't blinded by anger was Padme's ability to stall the Emperor so that Anakin had enough time to get Luke and get the hell off this planet. He didn't want the Emperor to know about Luke, at least not until Anakin could get off this hell hole and get some rest to be able to sort through these new, confusing emotions raging inside of him.

Grinding his teeth in fury, Anakin wondered if he had just conjured up the feeling of _that _particular presence because of the vivid childhood memories resurfacing in his dreams. He hadn't been able to sleep because these of attacking memories and he was swept with fatigue. Anakin decided that the faster he got off this planet the better, so he restarted the speeder and lunged purposely into the moonlight desert towards the Lars' homestead.

Several hours went by, Anakin wasn't sure how many in his tired stupor but when he barely sighted the top of a dome nearly hidden in the sand and shadow, memories flooded back to him telling him that he knew this place. When he got out of the speeder and strode toward the tiny adobe which was mostly underground since the climate of Tatoonie was so hostile, familiarity coursed through him. He was walking the same steps that he had once walked, carrying the body of his mother back to be buried. Emotions long ago buried were plunging him into darker depths and Anakin did not resist the hatred starting to brew and bubble inside of him. He knew that he partially blamed Owen for his mother's death because in Anakin's eye he had failed to protect her as a spouse. Mostly though, Anakin blamed himself by thinking that if he had known sooner about his mother's plight he would have rescued her earlier so that she would have lived after all. Worse yet was the blame Anakin placed on Owen for hiding his son from him. There would be a terrible consequence dealt for it. The stupor wrought by fatigue was gone from Anakin's face and his eyes had turned into unreasonable, demonic eyes that practically laughed through the opening where Anakin had reduced the protective metal door to nothing.

_"I've come back to take my son, and there is nothing, not you, nothing on this whole miserable planet that can stop me." _


	5. Dreamer 5

**Dreamer **

Luke was prone to having more feelings of déjà vu than both his aunt and uncle combined but at the moment in his speeder, Luke had never felt such a horrible vivid feeling before. His stomached twisted and his grip on the steering wheel was slippery from his sweating hands. Several emotions raced through him all at once: anger, sadness, and despair. Why was he feeling like this all of sudden? That feeling of knowing grew in him and it left him feeling cold. What if something had happened to his aunt and uncle when he left? Luke began to turn the speeder around when he heard a loud rumble over the sounds of the speeder's engine.

Luke now had a perfect view of what was behind him. It was a sandstorm that was quickly stirring up with a vengeance. Luke's heart began to race. He had never seen a sandstorm **that **big before. It was consuming the sky with its black entirety. It gave a bestial groan as it turned towards Mos Eisley. Luke watched it a moment more before he jerked the clutch of the speeder and throttled the gas. He had to hurry to the city and find shelter.

Risking a glance back, he saw that it was now covering the distance to the city in half the time that Luke had. It was catching up with him.

* * *

Tatoonie was prone to sandstorms like fleas are prone to dogs. Most sandstorms cause winds powerful enough to strip flesh from bones but by the time a powerful storm reached any of the major cities, the storm would be considerably weaker, thus minimizing damages. However, as a tiny Jawa scouted the horizon with his omnioculars on the outskirts of the city, he found that a hell of a sandstorm was heading from the South towards Mos Eisley. If anything, the storm appeared to be gaining strength instead of losing it.

He cursed colorfully in his own language. He had been hoping to sell some of his recently acquired scraps of metal for a good price to some of the city's vendors. He would have made quite a bit if it wasn't for the storm.

With a sour expression on his face, he continued to survey the storm. From the corner of his vision, he spotted a dot wildly swaying at the edge of the storm. He had to adjust the ominoculars to get a closer view.

He cursed again; this time with surprise and even with a little bit of awe.

Riding the very edge of the storm was a man.

The Jawa now jeered at the man and he adjusted his ominoculars again to watch the spectacle more closely.

Mighty winds lashed at the man and easily tossed the crappy vehicle everywhere that he was using but the man would at the last possible seconds, adjust the vehicle before it could turn over and somehow manage to keep going. The ominoculars gave an excellent close-up view of and the Jawa could focus and see clearly the most minute details of the man's face. The Jawa's blood froze as he caught sight of the catlike yellow eyes...and the expression he wore. There was something demented about this man.

The Jawa hastily put down his ominoculars before the man could see him and quickly started barking out orders to the rest of his kind milling around the crawler. He certainly wanted to get away from the storm but he also wanted to get away from that man...


	6. Dreamer 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part or piece from Star Wars but I do own my own characters and plots/ideas, however. **

**Dreamer**

Luke desperately looked for cover, twisting and turning his head back and forth. Mos Eisley was a maze of alleyways with high walls and somehow or another he had gotten lost in them. He just wished there was someone around to help him. It seemed that every passerby had vanished in an instant, leaving him utterly alone in the storm's path. He just kept walking to keep himself from panicking and passed one sealed door after another. Then suddenly, crumbling walls vanishing, Luke was in the open again, finding himself out of the maze and in front of one of Mos Eisley's degenerate spaceport hangars. Located in a circular depression in the ground, the hangar was nothing more than a patch of sand with an open roof with, like all other buildings on Tatoonie, beat up walls surrounding it. Luke's hopes soared; this was shelter compared to being out in the open and he hurried to the entrance.

Once inside, Luke was surprised that his vision was dimming in the roofless alcove. So he looked up and the usual glare from the twin suns was lost as they were both quietly eclipsed.

"Hurry up, you!"

Luke followed the equally anxious and harsh voice, leaving his shelter to the open. Cold but strong winds were already picking up sand and throwing it in Luke's direction. Running now, Luke covered his mouth to keep from inhaling the sand. He couldn't believe what he saw ahead of him; the familiar blue glow of flames coming from some ship preparing to take off. Someone was still here! And Luke ran into the entrance. Wiping the sand off his face he decided to proceed cautiously since the voice he had heard indicated harshness.

"Stupid blaggards, not worth a credit, any one of you!"

The merciless crack of a whip resounded, followed by a high-pitched scream of pain.

Luke felt his heart fall as he peered into the hangar to see, several slaves, alien and human alike, chained and being loaded onto a barge of a ship. The voice he had heard was the same being wielding the whip in one jewel encrusted hand. Luke was confused and stared at the features of the man. He had a large, plain human face and his body was normal enough but what Luke didn't understand was that the man had huge, glowing yellow eyes and long strands of dirty braided hair that moved on their own accord like extra apendages. The victim at his feet was a young, soft colored alien with stick-like arms that it was weakly trying to use to protect itself.

Grimly, he used his hand and picked up the alien around the neck effortlessly. With inhuman strength and speed he threw it into the wall and a smacking sound resounded, like that of an egg being dashed.

"Damn it! Now I'm one short," he muttered as he stared at the now lifeless form.

Luke knew that he would rather face anything else out there than get near that ship. He began to back up and he brushed against something soft. Rough hands pushed him out into the open.

"Look'ee at what we have 'ere, boss."

Unable to catch himself, Luke fell to the sand. Before he could get to his feet though, a soft skinned but iron gripped hand kept him from rising higher than his knees. He stared helplessly as the man wielding the whip observed him much like a butcher observes a cut of meat.

He poked Luke in the side.

"This one's healthy and well nourished," he barked as he circled Luke. He smiled cruelly. "We'll get a good sum of credits for this one."

Without warning, he cracked his whip at the line of slaves. "Get on the ship!" he screamed.

Heads bowed, the slaves hurriedly shuffled up the ramp of the ship despite the heavy chains weighting them down.

Luke wanted to protest but his captor behind him had a strong hold on his neck. It tightened warningly.

"Sure thing, boss."

Luke was forced behind the line of slaves and watched helplessly as he walked up the ramp and boarded the ship.

* * *

Mid-terms are horrible things. Read and review plz!


	7. Dreamer 7

**Dreamer**

Anakin knew quite clearly where his son was; with the Force flowing darkly through his veins he could practically picture the dirty column of slaves moving up the rusted ramp, chains clinking dismally as the slaves boarded onto that ship. The ship with his son on it--he would be damned if that ship would get away. Surging ahead into the empty streets, Anakin rode his nearly shot speeder toward the hangar, the storm right on his tail. He knew he had to hurry or it wouldn't make a difference if he made it to Luke now.

_Come on, _he urged and throttled the gas.

The speeder whined, it had taken a thorough beating from the storm, but it must have had a little more juice in it because the whine got louder and settled into a roaring purr and the buildings became whirs of bleached sand and the hangar came closer into view.

Anaking cursed when he saw the orange-blue glow of thrusters as the ship slowly pushed itself off the ground and began to battle with tearing winds.

"No!"

No one would have heard him scream over the howling winds but Anakin knew in one enraging moment, that he wouldn't make it in time. Even as he activated his lightsaber and threw it at the ship in a moment of desperation; he knew he had missed. The barge had activated its main thrusters and a searing white light touched the ground as the ship propelled itself out of the atmosphere into the deep recesses of space.

He cursed violently and with an unseen grip, his lightsaber was dislodged from the sand where it had landed and was smoothly returned into his hand. Without pause, Anakin rode out the storm, zigzagging into narrow alleyways, trying to formulate a plan of escape.

He actually looked back for a brief moment as he sidled the speeder up another side street. The tempermental sands that usually flitted quietly to accumulate inside doorways and windows was now roiling, moving under and over itself like a wave from the force of the storm; it hurled against walls and swept away unstable buildings which added to the choas as debris was flung in every direction. One large piece that had probably been from a rooftop landed squarely into his speeder, its jagged point piercing deeply through the metal hood. His speeder sputtered one moment and the next, it died completely.

"No, no, no," he said, his hands moving over the controls, trying to give the engine extra power so that it might kick start to life again. Nothing happened. It was obvious there was nothing he could do, so he tried his best to guide the deaccelerating ship as it crashed headlong into the sand, grating against it until the vehicle was completely stopped. Anaking ripped the compartment in the passenger's side open, grabbing all of the paperwork he had on his son. He leapt from the speeder and looked hopelessly about him. There was no where to go.

"Over here!"

Anakin certainly didn't hear the strangely familiar voice calling him over the storm but he did see the warm glow of light shedding from an open doorway. There was no mistaking that the desert garbed stranger was beckoning at Anakin to come inside. Anakin hesitated for a moment but he knew he had no other choice and disregarded the feeling of familiarity that ran through him at the sight of the stranger, gesturing at him to come along. Just as the stranger sealed the door shut, that familiar feeling grew in him so it was like an incessant bell calling for his attention.

"Who are you?" Anakin demanded.

There was no need for that because the stranger had taken off his hood and was staring at Anakin as he once had a long, long time ago.

"_You._"

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**Evil cliffie. Muhaha. You all should know who it is but not to worry, some interesting things are going to be going on in chapter eight. :) **

**I'm also curious, would you guys prefer longer chapters? (is that a dumb question?) I usully write one to two page chapters but I could make them longer, it would just take a little more time to update. **


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